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"New Jersey Giants" redirects here. For the breed of chicken, see Jersey Giant.
| name = New York Giants
| current = 2012 New York Giants season
| founded = 1925
| city = MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey
| misc = Headquartered in the Timex Performance Center East Rutherford, New Jersey
| helmet =
| logo = New York Giants logo.svg
| uniform = Image:NFCE-Uniform-NYG.PNG
| colors = Blue, Red, White, Gray
| coach = Tom Coughlin
| owner = John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%)
| president = John Mara
| chairman = Steve Tisch
| general manager = Jerry Reese
| nicknames = Big Blue, G-Men, Jints
| hist_yr = 1925
| NFL_start_yr = 1925
| division_hist =
}
The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, but the only one admitted that year which still exists. The team ranks third among all NFL franchises with eight NFL titles: four in the pre–Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four since the advent of the Super Bowl (Super BowlsXXI (1986), XXV (1990), XLII (2007), and XLVI (2011)). Their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers (13) and Chicago Bears (9). During their history, the Giants have featured 15 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Charlie Conerly, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.
To distinguish themselves from the professional baseball team of the same name, the football team was incorporated as the "New York National League Football Company, Inc." in 1929 and changed to "New York Football Giants, Inc." in 1937. Although the baseball team moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the football team continues to use "New York Football Giants, Inc." as its legal corporate name,[1] and is often referred to by fans and sportscasters as the "New York Football Giants". The team has also gained several nicknames, including "Big Blue", the "G-Men", and the "Jints", an intentionally mangled contraction seen frequently in the New York Post and New York Daily News, originating from the baseball team when they were based in New York. Additionally the team as a whole is occasionally referred to as the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", even though this moniker primarily and originally refers to the Giants defensive unit during the 80s and early 90s.[2]
The team's heated rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933 and has been called the best rivalry in the NFL in the 21st century.[3][4]
The Giants played their first game as an away game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 4, 1925.[5][6] They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000.[5] The Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record.[7]
In its third season, the team finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title.[8] After a disappointing fourth season (1928) owner Mara bought the entire squad of the Detroit Wolverines, principally to acquire star quarterback Benny Friedman, and merged the two teams under the Giants name.
In 1930, there were still many who questioned the quality of the professional game, claiming the college "amateurs" played with more intensity than professionals. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City. It was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with the stars of his 1924 Championship squad and told them to score early, then defend. Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win.[9] But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another. Notre Dame failed to score. When it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, "That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt."[10] The game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical.[9]
1933–46
Al Blozis, Giants tackle, died in World War II. According to Mel Hein, "If he hadn't been killed, he could have been the greatest tackle who ever played football."[11]
They did not win another league title until 1956, aided by a number of future Pro Football Hall of Fame players such as running back Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff, and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown, as well as all-pro running back Alex Webster. The Giants' 1956 championship team not only included players who would eventually find their way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but a Hall of Fame coaching staff, as well. Head coach Jim Lee Howell's staff had Vince Lombardi coaching the offense and Tom Landry coaching the defense.[12] From 1958 to 1963, the Giants played in the NFL Championship Game five times, but failed to win.[8] Most significantly, the Giants played the Colts in the 1958 NFL Championship Game that is considered a watershed event in the history of the NFL.[13] The game, which the Giants lost in overtime 23–17,[8] is often considered one of the most important events in furthering the NFL's popularity. The following year, they lost the championship to the Colts again, giving up a 16–9 4th quarter enroute to 31–16 loss. In 1963 led by league MVP quarterbackY.A. Tittle, who threw a then-NFL record 36 touchdown passes, the Giants advanced to the NFL Championship Game, where they lost to the Bears 14–10.[14]
1964–78
From 1964 to 1978, the Giants registered only two winning seasons and no playoff appearances.[7] With players such as Tittle and Gifford approaching their mid 30s, the team declined rapidly, finishing 2–10–2 in 1964.[7] They rebounded with a 7–7 record in 1965,[7] before compiling a league-worst 1–12–1 record,[15] and allowing more than 500 points on defense in 1966.[15] During the 1969 preseason, the Giants lost their first meeting with the New York Jets, 37–14, in front of 70,874 fans at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.[16] Following the game, Wellington Mara fired coach Allie Sherman,[17] and replaced him with former Giants fullback Alex Webster.
In 1967, the team acquired quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings. Despite having several respectable seasons with Tarkenton at quarterback, including a 7–7 finish in 1967 and 9–5 in 1970,[7] the Giants traded him back to the Vikings after a 4–10 finish in 1971 .[18] Tarkenton would go on to lead the Vikings to three Super Bowls and earn a place in the Hall of Fame,[18] while the Giants suffered through one of the worst stretches in their history,[7] winning only 23 games from 1973–79.[7] Before the 1976 season, the Giants tried to revive a weak offense by replacing retired RB Ron Johnson with future HOF fullback Larry Csonka, but Csonka was often injured and ineffective during his 3 years in New York. The 1977 season featured a roster that included three rookie quarterbacks.[19]
The Giants were allowed to play their home games at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut in 1973–74, and at at Shea Stadium (home of the Mets) in 1975, due to the renovation of Yankee Stadium. They finally moved into their own dedicated state-of-the-art stadium in 1976,[12] when they moved into Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. One of the low points during this period was the play known as the "Miracle at the Meadowlands", which occurred in 1978.[20] With the Giants trying to secure a win against the Philadelphia Eagles,[20] they chose to call a running play—which resulted in a fumble that was returned for a game-winning touchdown by the Eagles' Herman Edwards.[20]
The Giants' front office operations were complicated by a long-standing feud between Wellington Mara and his nephew, Tim Mara.[21] Jack Mara had died in 1965, leaving his share of the club to his son Tim. Wellington and Tim's personal styles and their visions for the club clashed, and eventually they stopped talking to each other. Commissioner Rozelle intervened and appointed a neutral general manager, George Young, allowing the club to operate more smoothly. The feud became moot on February 20, 1991, when Tim Mara sold his shares in the club to Preston Robert Tisch.
1979–93
Giants Stadium was home to the Giants from 1976 to 2009.
The Giants struggled in Parcells's initial year and finished with 3–12–1 record.[7] After 9–7 and 10–6 finishes in 1984 and 1985 respectively,[7] the Giants compiled a 14–2 record in 1986 led by league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Lawrence Taylor and the Big Blue Wrecking Crew defense. The Giants defeated the 49ers 49–3 in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs [24] and the Redskins 17–0 in the NFC championship game, advancing to their first Super Bowl,[25]Super Bowl XXI, against the Denver Broncos at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Led by MVP Simms who completed 22 of 25 passes for a Super Bowl record 88% completion percentage, they defeated the Broncos 39–20,[26] to win their first championship since 1956. In addition to Simms and Taylor, the team was led during this period by head coach Bill Parcells, tight end Mark Bavaro, running back Joe Morris, and Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson.
The Giants struggled to a 6–9 record in the strike-marred1987 season,[7] due largely to a decline in the running game, as Morris managed only 658 yards[27] behind an injury-riddled offensive line.[28] The early portion of the 1988 season was marred by a scandal involving Lawrence Taylor. Taylor had abused cocaine and was suspended for the first four games of the season for his second violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Despite the controversy, the Giants finished 10–6, and Taylor recorded 15.5 sacks after his return from the suspension. They surged to a 12–4 record in 1989, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in their opening playoff game when Flipper Anderson caught a 47-yard touchdown pass to give the Rams a 19–13 overtime win. In 1990, the Giants went 13–3 and set an NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season (14).[29] They defeated the San Francisco 49ers, who were attempting to win the Super Bowl for an unprecedented third straight year, 15–13 at San Francisco[30] and then defeated the Buffalo Bills 20–19 in Super Bowl XXV.[26]
Following the 1990 season, Parcells resigned as head coach and was replaced by the team's offensive coordinator, Ray Handley. Handley served as coach for two disappointing seasons (1991–92), which saw the Giants fall from Super Bowl champions to an 8–8 record in 1991 and a 6–10 record in 1992. He was fired following the 1992 season, and replaced by former Denver Broncos' coach Dan Reeves. In the early 1990s, Simms and Taylor, two of the stars of the 1980s, played out the last seasons of their careers with steadily declining production. The Giants experienced a resurgent season with Reeves at the helm in 1993 however, and Simms and Taylor ended their careers as members of a playoff team.
1994–present
Retired Giants' punter Jeff Feagles at the Giants' Super Bowl parade, February 5, 2008.
The Giants initially struggled in the post Simms-Taylor era. After starting 3–7 in 1994, the Giants won their final six games to finish 9–7 but missed the playoffs.[31] Quarterback Dave Brown received heavy criticism throughout the season.[32] Brown performed poorly the following two seasons, and the Giants struggled to 5–11 and 6–10 records.[7] Reeves was fired following the 1996 season, and replaced by Jim Fassel, former offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals. Fassel named Danny Kanell the team's starting quarterback, and the team finished 10–5–1 and made the playoffs in 1997.[7] After losing in the first round to the Vikings in 1997, the Giants needed to close out the season with four wins to finish 8–8 in 1998. One of the bright spots of that season was a win over the Denver Broncos in week 15, giving the Broncos their first loss of the season after starting 13–0.
Before the 1999 seasonKerry Collins was brought in to help the team. Collins was the first–ever draft choice of the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1995, and led the Panthers to the NFC Championship game in his second season. However, problems with alcohol, conflicts with his teammates and questions about his character led to his release from the Panthers.[33] The Giants finished 7–9 in 1999.[7]
2000 season
The 2000 season was considered a make-or-break year for Fassel. The conventional wisdom was that Fassel needed to have a strong year and a playoff appearance to save his job. After two back-to-back losses at home against St. Louis and Detroit, the Giants fell to 7–4[34] and their playoff prospects were in question. At a press conference following the Giants' loss to Detroit, Fassel guaranteed that "[t]his team is going to the playoffs".[35] The Giants responded, winning the rest of their regular season games to finish the season 12–4[34] and earn a bye as the NFC's top seed. The Giants won their first playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, 20–10, and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 41–0 in the NFC Championship game.[34] They advanced to play the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. Though the Giants went into halftime down only 10–0,[36] the Ravens dominated the second half. Their defense harassed Kerry Collins all game long, resulting in Collins completing only 15 of 39 passes for 112 yards and 4 interceptions.[36] The Ravens won the game 34–7.[36]
2004 season
In 2004, three years after their last Super Bowl appearance, Fassel was replaced by current coach Tom Coughlin. Although Collins had several solid seasons as the Giants quarterback, he experienced his share of struggles. In 2004, the Giantscompleted a draft day trade for University of Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning.[37] Manning became the team's starting quarterback in the middle of the 2004 season, taking over for Kurt Warner. The early part of Coughlin's tenure produced inconsistent results (a 25–23 record and two playoff appearances—both losses, before the 2007 season[38]) and spawned intense media scrutiny concerning the direction of the team.[39] During this period in their history, standout players included defensive endMichael Strahan, who set the NFL single season record in sacks in 2001,[40] and running back Tiki Barber, who set a team record for rushing yards in a season in 2005.[41]
2007 season and Super Bowl victory
Going into 2007, the Giants had made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. In 2007, the Giants became the third NFL franchise to win at least 600 games when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons 31–10 on Monday Night Football .[42] For the 2007 season, the NFL scheduled the Giants' road game against the Miami Dolphins on October 28 in London's Wembley Stadium; this was the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America. The Giants defeated the Dolphins, 13–10. The Giants finished 10–6, and became NFC Champions after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers in the NFC Playoffs. They set a record for most consecutive road wins with 10 (a streak which ended with a loss to the Cleveland Browns during week 6 of the 2008 season).
The Patriots (18–0) entered the Super Bowl undefeated and were 12 point favorites going into game weekend.[43] The Giants defeated the Patriots 17–14 in Super Bowl XLII, capped by the famous "Manning to Tyree" pass. the third biggest upset by betting line in Super Bowl history. (The Baltimore Colts were favored by 17 over the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, and the St. Louis Rams were favored by 14 over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI.) [44] Co-owner John Mara described it as "the greatest victory in the history of this franchise, without question".[45]
Post Super Bowl and late season collapses: 2008–2010
In 2008, the Giants won the NFC East with a record of 12–4 (and also were the number one seed in the NFC after beating the Carolina Panthers for home field advantage), but lost 23–11 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs.[46]
In 2009, the Giants opened a new training complex, the Timex Performance Center, also located in the Meadowlands. After starting 5–0 in the 2009 season, New York lost to the likewise undefeated New Orleans Saints at the Superdome 48–27, beginning a four game losing streak,[47] in which they lost to the Arizona Cardinals 24–17, the Chargers 21–20 and the Eagles 40–17. The streak was broken with a 34–31 overtime victory against the Atlanta Falcons. On Thanksgiving night, they lost to the Denver Broncos 26–6. The Giants next beat the division leading Dallas Cowboys. A week later, with a record of 7–5, they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 45–38. On December 27, the Giants lost to the Carolina Panthers 41–9 in their final game at Giants Stadium, and were eliminated from playoff eligibility. The Giants finished the season 8–8.
Following the season, the Giants fired first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, and replaced him with the former Buffalo Bills interim head coach, Perry Fewell. The Giants defense finished 13th overall under Sheridan, giving up 324.9 yards per game, and the final two losses of the season against Carolina and Minnesota, in which the Giants gave up 85 points, ultimately led to the firing.[48]
In 2010, the Giants moved from Giants Stadium into MetLife Stadium, then known as the "New Meadowlands Stadium". They won against the Panthers in the first game at the New Meadowlands, but then lost to the Colts in the second "Manning Bowl", so-called due to Eli Manning's brother Peyton playing for the Colts. The Giants dropped one game to the Titans before going on a five-game winning streak, beating the Bears, Texans, Lions, Cowboys and Seahawks. Before long, the Giants were 6–2, but lost two straight to division foes: to the Dallas Cowboys 33–20 at home, and to the Eagles on the road, putting the G-Men in 2nd place in the NFC East at 6–4. In first place was the Eagles, but at December 19 they were both tied for first place at 8–4, setting up a match for first place. The Giants were at home, and led 24–3 over the Eagles at halftime. The score was 31–10 with 5:40 left in the game, but Michael Vick led the Eagles to three touchdown drives to tie the game up at 31 with 40 seconds left. After a Giants three-and-outs, Matt Dodge punted the ball to Desean Jackson, who returned it for a touchdown, concluding the Giants' epic collapse. The next game, the Giants lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Packers 45–17, and at 9–6, they faced the Redskins. They had to win and have the Packers lose in order to get into the playoffs. The Giants won 17–14, but the Packers beat the Bears 10–3, so the Giants missed out on the playoffs again, ending an collapse in which the Giants went 4–4 in their last eight games.
During the 2011 preseason, the Giants lost Kevin Boss, Steve Smith, Rich Seubert, Keith Bullock, Derek Hagan, and pro-bowl center Shaun O'Hara to free agency. However, the season also saw the emerging of second-year wide receiver Victor Cruz and second-year tight end Jake Ballard. They opened the season against the Washington Redskins on the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, with both New York City and Washington being a target of the attacks. The Redskins beat the Giants 28–14, but the Giants won their next three games against the Rams, Eagles and Cardinals. After a loss against the Seattle Seahawks because of an Eli Manning interception, they had an second three game winning streak. A key victory was an Giants upset of the New England Patriots 24–20 at New England. The victory ended the Patriots' NFL record home-game winning streak, after a touchdown pass from Manning to Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left in the game. However, the Giants seemed to hit a wall after the midpoint of the season. Marred by inconsistent gameplay, questionable play-calling and injuries, the team struggled the following three games, losing their next three games. The Giants broke their losing streak and regained their position atop the NFC East Division with a tightly contested 37–34 victory over the Cowboys on December 11. Soon after, the Giants would lose to the Redskins again, but they would avenge their defeat by beating their cross-town rival New York Jets, also knocking the Philadelphia Eagles out of playoff contention, leaving them with a tiebreaker versus the Dallas Cowboys. On a cold night in New Jersey, the Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31–14 in Week 17 to clinch the NFC East and thus their NFL record 31st playoff appearance, breaking their tie with the Cowboys at 30.
On January 8, 2012 in the first round of the playoffs the Giants defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24–2. After giving up an early safety in the first half, QB Eli Manning threw for three consecutive touchdowns. RBs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined for 172 yards rushing, a season-high for the Giants. With the victory, the Giants advanced to the second round against the top-ranked Green Bay Packers.
On January 15th, 2012, the Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers 37–20. Eli Manning threw for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns, two of which to wide receiver Hakeem Nicks. This earned the Giants a spot in the NFC Championship Game on January 22, 2012, against the San Francisco 49ers. They won this game 20–17, in overtime, with Tynes scoring the winning field goal as he did four years earlier in the same game against the Green Bay Packers.
The New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots with a score of 21–17. The winning touchdown was preceded by a spectacular 38 yard reception by receiver Mario Manningham. As in Super Bowl XLII, Eli Manning was Super Bowl MVP, defeating Tom Brady for a second time in the Super Bowl.
With over 80 years of team history, the Giants have used numerous uniforms and logos. Giants' logos include several incarnations of a giant quarterback preparing to throw a football, a lowercase "ny", and stylized versions of the team nickname.
File:Giant quarterbacks.jpgTwo of the Giants "Giant Quarterbacks" logos; primary logo 1956–60 (top), and secondary logo 2000–2009.
Giants' jerseys are traditionally blue or red (or white with blue or red accents), and their pants alternate between white and gray. Currently, the Giants wear home jerseys that are solid blue with white block numbering, gray pants with red and blue stripes on the pant legs, and solid blue socks. For this they gained their most renown nickname, "Big Blue". For road uniforms, they wear a white jersey with red block numbering and Northwestern stripes on the sleeves, gray pants with blue and red stripes, and solid red socks. The Giants' current helmet is metallic blue with white block numbers, frontally mounted on either side of a red stripe running down the center. The helmet is adorned on both sides with the lower case "ny" logo and features a gray facemask. Additionally, the Giants had until the '09–'10 season a third jersey which recalled the Giants' solid red home jerseys from the early 50's: a solid red alternate with white block numbers. These jerseys have been used a total of four times, but have been retired. Once in 2004 against the Philadelphia Eagles and three consecutive years; 2005, 2006, and 2007 against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Giants have had a long and, at times, turbulent financial history. The Giants were founded by Tim Mara with an investment of US$500 in 1925 and became one of the first teams in the then five-year-old NFL.[49] To differentiate themselves from the baseball team of the same name, they took the name "New York Football Giants", which they still use as their legal corporate name.
Although the Giants were successful on the field in their initial seasons, their financial status was a different story. Overshadowed by baseball, boxing, and college football, professional football was not a popular sport in 1925. The Giants were in dire financial straits until the 11th game of the season when Red Grange and the Chicago Bears came to town, attracting over 73,000 fans.[50] This gave the Giants a much needed influx of revenue, and perhaps altered the history of the franchise.[51][52] The following year, Grange and his agent formed a rival league and stationed a competing team, led by Grange, in New York. Though the Giants lost $50,000 that season, the rival league folded and was subsumed into the NFL.[53] Following the 1930 season, Mara transferred ownership of the team over to his two sons to insulate the team from creditors, and by 1946, he had given over complete control of the team to them. Jack, the older son, controlled the business aspects, while Wellington controlled the on-field operations.[54] After their initial struggles the Giants financial status stabilized, and they led the league in attendance several times in the 1930s and 1940s.[55]
Giants estimated value from 1998 to 2006 according to Forbes magazine.[56][57]
By the early 1960s, the Giants had firmly established themselves as one of the league's biggest attractions. However, rather than continuing to receive their higher share of the league television revenue, the Mara sons pushed for equal sharing of revenue for the benefit of the entire league. Revenue sharing is still practiced in the NFL today, and is credited with strengthening the league.[54] After their struggles in the latter half of the 1960s and the entire 1970s, the Giants hired an outsider, George Young, to run the football operations for the first time in franchise history.[58] The Giants' on-field product and business aspects improved rapidly following the move.
In 1991, Tim Mara, struggling with cancer at the time, sold his half of the team to Bob Tisch for a reported $80 million.[59] This marked the first time in franchise history the team had not been solely owned by the Mara family. In 2005, Wellington Mara, who had been with the team since its inception in 1925 when he worked as a ball boy, died at the age of 89.[60] His death was followed two weeks later by the death of Tisch.
In 2010, MetLife Stadium opened, replacing Giants Stadium. The new stadium is a 50/50 partnership between the Giants and Jets, and while the stadium is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority on paper, the two teams jointly built the stadium using private funds, and administer it jointly through New Meadowlands Stadium Corporation. The Giants had previously planned a $300 million dollar renovation to the Meadowlands, before deciding in favor of the new stadium which was originally estimated to cost approximately $600 million,[61] before rising to an estimated cost of one billion dollars.[57] One advantage gained by owning the stadium is that the teams saved considerable money in tax payments. The teams leased the land from the state at a cost of $6.3 million per year.[61] The state paid for all utilities, including the $30 million needed to install them.[61]
The Giants are currently owned and operated by John Mara and Steve Tisch. Forbes magazine estimates the current value of the team at $974 million.[62] This ranks them eighth among the 32 teams in the league in terms of estimated value.[62] The value has steadily increased from $288 million in 1998, to their current value.[56] The magazine estimated their revenue in 2006 at $182 million, of which $46 million came from gate receipts. Operating income was $26.9 million, and player salary was $102 million.[57] Current major sponsors include Gatorade, Anheuser Busch, Toyota, and Verizon Wireless.[57] Recent former sponsors include Miller Brewing and North Fork Bank.[61] Luxury suites, retail and game day concessions at the new stadium are done by global hospitality giant Delaware North Companies. Giants average ticket price is $72.[57]
The Giants draw their fans from the New York metropolitan area. Since their move to New Jersey in 1976, fans from each state have claimed the team as their own.[63] In January 1987, shortly before the team won Super Bowl XXI, then New York City mayor Ed Koch labeled the team "foreigners" and said they were not entitled to a ticker-tape parade in New York City.[64] On February 5, 2008, the city, under mayor Michael Bloomberg, threw a ticker tape parade in honor of the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory at the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan.[65] New York City held another ticker tape parade on February 7, 2012, in honor of the Giants' Super Bowl XLVI victory. According to a team spokesman, in 2001, 52 percent of the Giants' season ticket-holders lived in New Jersey. Most of the remaining ticket holders lived in New York State with some coming from other states.[63]
Through the lean years of 1960s and 1970s the Giants, in spite of a 17-year-long playoff drought, still accumulated a 20-year-long waiting list for season tickets. It has been estimated that the Giants have a waiting list of 135,000 people, the largest of any franchise.[66]
This rivalry runs deep, from the very first game ever played between the Giants and Cowboys, a 31–31 tie on December 4, 1960. Tom Landry had a large part to play, having at one point or another been a fixture in both franchises, as a defensive coordinator with the Giants, to being head coach of the Cowboys. Of all the Giants rivals, while the Eagles are the most maligned, the Cowboys have been the most troublesome to Big Blue. The Cowboys dominated the Giants in the 60's into the 70's, getting off to a 26–9–2 start against New York in their first 37 meetings. While Dallas dominated early the Giants did strike back in the 80's and since then the rivalry has been very even handed with the Giants leading the series 31–30 in games played since 1980. It should be noted that the Giants defeated Dallas in the only playoff meeting between the two teams in the 2007 playoffs en route to their victory in Super Bowl XLII. Dallas currently leads the all-time series 56–41–2, the only divisional opponent against whom the Giants do not lead the series, including former divisional foe Arizona.
The rivalry between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest rivalry in the NFC East and one of the oldest in the NFL, dating all the way back to 1933.[3][4] While the Giants have dominated this rivalry for most of their history, the Eagles have been in control for the last 20 years or so, winning the series through the 90’s and 2000’s. The Giants currently lead the series 81–72–2.
The Giants and Jets have the only intracity rivalry in the NFL, made even more unusual by sharing a stadium. They have met annually in the preseason since 1969. Since 2011, this meeting has been known as the "MetLife Bowl", after the naming sponsor of the teams' stadium.
Regular season matchups between the teams occur once every four years, as they follow the NFL scheduling formula for interconference games. A memorable regular season game was in 1988, when the Giants faced off against the Jets in the last game of the season, needing a victory to make the playoffs. The Jets played spoiler, however, beating the Giants 27–21 and ruining the latter's playoff hopes. A different scenario unfolded during the penultimate regular season game of 2011 as the "visiting" Giants defeated the Jets 29–14. The victory simultaneously helped eliminate the Jets from playoff contention and propel the Giants to their own playoff run and eventual win in Super Bowl XLVI. The Giants lead the overall regular season series 8–4 and have won the last five meetings.
The Washington Redskins gather at the line of scrimmage against the Giants.
The Redskins have an old and storied rivalry with the Giants, dating back to 1932.[67] While this rivalry is typically given less significance than rivalries with the Eagles and Cowboys rivalries, there have been periods of great competition between the two. In the 1980s the Giants and Redskins clashed as both struggled against each other for division titles and even Super Bowl Championships. Most notable among these is the 1986 NFC Championship game in which the Big Blue Wrecking Crew defeated the Redskins 17–0 to earn their first ever trip to the Super Bowl. Wellington Mara always felt this was the Giants oldest and truest rival and after passing away in 2005 the Giants honored their longtime owner by defeating the Redskins 36–0 at home. The Giants lead this series 91–63–4.
*Retired in 1935, this was the first number to be retired by any team in major league sports.[69]
Ring of Honor
The New York Giants unveiled their own Ring of Honor on October 3, 2010 during halftime of their Sunday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears. John Mara had long wished to create a Giants Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame to honor Giants who helped the franchise achieve each of their championships, and the building of MetLife Stadium resulted in the realization of that ambition.[70] The organization chose to have an inaugural induction class of 30 including players, coaches, owners and executives that have had a great impact on the organization. While the entire list of inductees was not revealed until the actual induction, the organization did confirm that Phil Simms, Bill Parcells, Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, Frank Gifford and Pete Gogolak would all be inducted about a week prior to the ceremony.[71]
As of 2010, the Giants' flagship radio station is WFAN 660 AM, the oldest all-sports radio station in the United States. Some games in August and September are moved to WXRK or WCBS-FM due to conflicts with the New York Mets baseball team.
Preseason telecasts not seen nationally air in the area on WNBC, "4 New York". National cable broadcasts carried over the local airwaves aired on WPIX in 2009; Giants and Jets regular season games broadcast on cable are usually carried by either WPIX or WWOR-TV with rare exceptions.
The Current Public Address Announcer for the Giants home games is Jim Hall
Past
WFAN has produced the Giants' radio broadcasts since 1995, but has not always aired them on the station. For 1995, then-Giants flagship WOR continued to carry the games as they had for the previous two seasons. In 1996 the games were simulcast on WFAN and WOR, which caused some conflict as at the time, WFAN was the radio flagship of the New York Jets as well. To remedy the situation, beginning the next year WFAN moved the Giants' radio broadcasts to the FM dial and sister station WNEW, where they remained until the end of the 1999 season. In 2000 WFAN lost the Jets' radio contract to WABC and the Giants moved back to WFAN where they have been ever since.
The Giants' longtime radio home was WNEW-AM, where games aired from the mid-1950s until 1993 when the station was bought by Bloomberg L.P. and changed its format. Marty Glickman teamed with Al DeRogatis for a long stretch beginning in the early 1960s on WNEW-AM. Chip Cipolla joined Glickman after DeRogatis left to join Curt Gowdy on NBC. After the WNEW split, games began airing on WOR. Glickman moved to the crosstown Jets in 1973 and was succeeded by Marv Albert. Jim Gordon succeeded Albert in 1977, beginning an 18-year tenure as the Giants' play-by-play voice. Meanwhile, Dick Lynch succeeded Cipolla as color analyst in 1976 and continued in that role through 2007, with his last game being Super Bowl XLII, and retired following the season due to his advancing leukemia, which took his life in September 2008.
Eventually Gordon and Lynch were joined by Karl Nelson, a former lineman for the Giants. Gordon and Nelson were fired after the 1994 season, after which Papa took over the play-by-play (after being studio host) and led a two-man booth with Lynch. Dave Jennings joined the broadcast team in 2002 following his firing by the Jets, with whom he had worked since his 1987 retirement from the NFL. Jennings was moved to the pregame show after the 2006 season and was replaced by Carl Banks.
After WFAN began airing games Richard Neer served as pregame and postgame host. He was replaced by Sid Rosenberg, who was in turn fired by the station due to troubles and replaced by Chris Carlin. Carlin left in 2008 to focus full-time on his duties as SNY studio host and Rutgers athletics radio voice and was replaced by WWOR sports reporter and former WFAN host Russ Salzberg, who cohosted with Roman Oben after Jennings left. WEPN Giants beat reporter Paul Dottino was hired by WFAN to host the pregame show for 2009 and continues to be a part of the program. Anita Marks has hosted the pre- and post- game shows since 2010, co-hosting with Dottino for home games and Oben for away games.
The Giants were carried on the DuMont Network, then CBS (New York's Channel 2) in the early TV days of the NFL, when home games were blacked out within a 75-mile radius of New York City. Chris Schenkel was their play-by-play announcer in that early era when each team was assigned its own network voice on its regional telecasts. At the time, there were few if any true national telecasts until the NFL championship game, which was carried by NBC. Schenkel was joined by Jim McKay, later Johnny Lujack through the 1950s and the early 1960s. As Giants players retired to the broadcast booth in the early and 1960s, first Pat Summerall, then Frank Gifford took the color analyst slot next to Schenkel. As the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL approached, CBS moved to a more generic announcer approach and Schenkel was off the broadcasts.
Giants regular-season Sunday telecasts moved to Fox when that network took over NFC telecasts in 1994 and are carried locally by WNYW.
WCBS-TV and WPIX were previously home to Giants preseason telecasts in the 1990s, with WPIX serving as the Giants' (and Jets') long time preseason home. After the NFC rights were lost by CBS, the Giants followed the conference's broadcast rights to WNYW. WWOR became the Giants' flagship TV station in the late '90s, and stayed so up until WNBC took over rights in 2005.
When the Giants first moved to WNYW, Mike Breen was their preseason play-by-play man. Sam Rosen was the television voice for some time afterward, except for two years when Curt Menefee (then of WNYW) was the voice. When the games moved to WWOR, Rosen regained the position and held it until 2004. Former Giant receiver Phil McConkey became the early season analyst after his retirement and stayed in the booth for many years.
^ abBrookover, Bob (September 17, 2006). "The Birds' Biggest Rival—In a division of fierce foes, the Giants have battled the Eagles as tough as anyone". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D1.
^ abBrookover, Bob (November 6, 2008). "Eagles—Giants among top rivalries". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D6.
Carroll, John Martin (1999). Grange and the Rise of Modern Football. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN0252071662.
Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M. (1994). The Complete History of Professional Football from 1892 to the Present. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 113. ISBN0312114354. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Steinbreder, John (1999). Giants: 75 Years of Championship Football (second ed.). Dallas: Taylor Publishing Co. ISBN0-87833-159-X.
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